Category Archives: Music

Beyond The Beautiful South – in conversation with Alison Wheeler

After a successful few years revisiting a classic song catalogue while spreading the word about 2012 LP Sweet Refrains across Europe and the UK, The South are ready for a three-week autumn tour and are keen to talk about a … Continue reading

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Kodiak Island –The Golden Section (Musical Bear Records, 2016)

The digital version of the debut long player from Kodiak Island is set to sweep in on the web-surf this weekend. And as befits the album’s title, those shelling out should quickly get the bigger, aesthetically-pleasing picture. The Golden Section … Continue reading

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Present company accepted – having words with UB40’s Jimmy Brown

You probably know about the legal dispute rocking reggae behemoths UB40, two factions of the band at odds with each other over the use of the name. But while all that rumbles on, the show goes on for the five remaining … Continue reading

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Dreams stay with you – in conversation with Mark Brzezicki

Four shows into Big Country’s latest anniversary tour, Mark Brzezicki was back home this week, between dates at Holmfirth’s Picturedrome and The Warehouse, Falkirk. And three decades after his primary band’s commercial peak, he can confirm there’s still plenty of love … Continue reading

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Beyond the Dandelion Adventure – having words with Ajay Saggar and Marcus Parnell

This story starts with The Membranes, because without that Lancashire post-punk band a singer known as Fat Mark and a lanky Asian indie kid called Ajay might never have met. That initial meeting came sometime in the mid-‘80s amid an … Continue reading

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Waiting for The Vapors’ return – the Dave Fenton interview

I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you remember The Vapors. I also realise that many of you will now have the song Turning Japanese lodged in your head, and a few of you will think that was the whole story. … Continue reading

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Teenage Fanclub – Here (PeMa/Merge, 2016)

I’m not quite sure it was a good thing to come to this review on the back of penning my thoughts on the latest album from The Wedding Present. I love both bands, but they’ve taken radically different paths since … Continue reading

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Going, Going … The Wedding Present (Scopitones, 2016)

A new Wedding Present album after a four-and-a-half year break, and we’re into uncharted territory again. It involves some journey too – a North American East-West road-trip (and a half) from Kittery to Santa Monica via various points, initially suggesting … Continue reading

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Introducing the Islandman – the Elliott Morris interview

There’s a song on The Waterboys’ 1990 album Room to Roam that appears particularly apt in describing the career journey of inventive guitarist and singer-songwriter Elliott Morris. In Islandman, Mike Scott cites England as his ‘spine, the backbone and the … Continue reading

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Fortune favours Lonely the Brave – the Mark Trotter interview

Two top-40 albums into their career, and with a fervent fan-base at home and overseas, Lonely the Brave are proving a major draw on the live circuit. Their debut album, The Day’s War, peaked at No.14 in the UK charts, … Continue reading

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